Former frontman of The Smiths critical of "abysmal example" set by US President

Morrissey has criticised Barack Obama over the US President’s annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon.

The open letter was posted on fan site True To You and is titled ‘Thankskilling’. In it, Morrissey attacks America’s animal rights record, claiming that 45 million turkeys are “horrifically abused” at Thanksgiving and that the annual holiday “supports torture”. An extract of the post can be seen below.

“Please ignore the abysmal example set by President Obama who, in the name of Thanksgiving, supports torture as 45 million birds are horrifically abused; dragged through electrified stun baths, and then have their throats slit. And President Obama laughs. Haha, so funny! Further, the meat industry is responsible for 51 per cent of human-caused greenhouse-gas emission, therefore the embarrassingly stupid White House ‘turkey pardon’ is open support for a viciously cruel and environmentally irresponsible industry.”

The ‘Turkey pardon’ mentioned in Morrissey’s post relates to a traditional ceremony in which the US president is presented with a live domestic turkey which they then grant a “presidential pardon”, sparing the bird from being slaughtered.

The event, which has taken place annually on December 11 in Oslo, Norway, since 1994, is a musical tribute to honor the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Other artists lined up to play the event include James Blunt, Mary J Blige and Omar Souleyman. The event will be hosted by actress Claire Danes.